‘Succession’ S2E2: “Vaulter”

The wealthy Roy family is back and up to their manipulative, dirty means in this second season. Leaving off last season with a joyous new union and heartbreaking death, who knew where we would pick up from when we came back? Well, only a couple days following the events of the first season and we’re back at it. Now that Kendall (Jeremy Strong) is back under his father’s (Brian Cox) thumb and under the influence, we see a pretty broken man. But he’ll do whatever daddy tells him to do, primarily starting with checking in on Vaulter. His prized acquisition of last season is stumbling. Roman (Kieran Culkin) is also on the task but going about it a tad differently. Brother versus brother for the coveted future CEO spot. Ken’s backfired plan is leaving the company on shaky ground now fighting a media battle and money battle over it all.

Meanwhile, Shiv (Sarah Snook) is actually the intended replacement. She’s torn over making herself that vulnerable to her father because obviously look what he did to Kendall! And while her boss is aiming to get into the White House, that is no guarantee that she would get to be Chief of Staff. And then she’s also hedging all of this without telling Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) right away. Difficult for a new marriage, but they sound pretty open to marital negotiation. Though things are clearly tense. He doesn’t appreciate being made a joke, even if it is about his suits. And frankly, I get it. A little teasing is one thing but talking shit about him to your brother over dinner like that is a whole other thing. I would be pissed. He’s dealing with his own shit at work too, going head to head against the badass news leader. She’s taking zero shit from Tom and I love it! But he’s hoping his insights, or rather the grunt work Greg (Nicholas Braun) did, will get him the top spot. Cutting back in business will always win you brownie points.

Ken hedges his situation at Vaulter for a minute. And I nearly thought he was about to pull some sneaky stuff again, but in the end, he did exactly what I expected. He did the shady, underhanded shit his daddy told him to do. Because isn’t it always easier in life when you can pass the buck? And it really solidifies the mindset and ideology of the Roy family. Everyone else is nothing. You can literally spit in their face after they completely destroy your job and it won’t even phase them. They are used to treating everyone and everything as a disposable plaything. And on the one hand, it makes for some damn entertaining TV. On the other hand, watching rich people be assholes is infuriating. They so clearly don’t care about other people. The lack of empathy is shocking. What must it be like to grow up in so much wealth like that? What does it do to a person? How different would you or I or anyone be growing up that way? Or rather were our parents to have that financial situation, how different would they be in raising us?

Tensions will break soon as Shiv makes her decision and moves into play. Will siblings soon be in all-out war? Or should we just expect some serious sibling espionage? Check out the scenes for next week and some awesome behind the scenes footage over filming one particularly intense scene!

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Alexandra

Writer. Reader. Hogwarts alum. Nap enthusiast. Coffee expert. Holder of tea parties. Nerdfighter. Browncoat. Whovian. Cumber cookie. Alliteration addict. Wit factory. Can often be seen making meandering journeys through her mind in search of something profound. If cranky, approach quietly and offer either caffeine or chocolate.